Toyota China Expansion Possibly Coming Soon
If automakers learned anything in 2014, it was that the market is expanding, and demand for new vehicles is, once again, on the rise. Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is responding to this increased demand by lifting a freeze on new capacity expansion that wasn’t originally set to expire until March 2016. The expansion will likely take place in China and Mexico.
While not yet officially confirmed by the automaker, Toyota China expansion would take place in two locations—the Changchun, and Guangzhou. Toyota will build one assembly plant in each of the cities, plus a passenger car plant in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. According to one unnamed Chinese Toyota executive, “The only thing we are waiting for is a final green light from the top.”
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Following the recession, Toyota president Akio Toyoda decided to begin the freeze and concentrate on expanding operations at existing plants rather than building new ones. Now, with Toyota plants running at full capacity and many set for expansion, Toyoda has decided that demand is finally back to a pre-recession level that merits the construction of new assembly plants.
In addition to this expansion in China and Mexico, Toyota recently announced expansions of its plants in Indiana and Baja California, Mexico, in order to keep up with high demand for trucks and SUVs. On top of that, the Japanese automaker is expanding its Toyota Technical Center in Michigan, and adding hundreds of jobs to its powertrain operations and consolidate vehicle development operations.
With all this expansion, it certainly looks like Toyota plans on keeping its title as the world’s largest automaker into 2015 and beyond.
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News Source: Reuters
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